Son’s homework spurs civic leader’s research of Portuguese heritage

‘We cannot perpetuate a cultural heritage if we don’t share it,” says Audrey Rocha Reed of the Portuguese Association of Maui.

A longtime civic leader and voice in the Portuguese community on island, Reed is the go-to person for the association and Heritage Hall on Baldwin Avenue in Paia, which houses resource centers for Puerto Rican and Portuguese culture and history on Maui, rooms and halls for community groups to rent, and a rotation of cultural and charitable events.

Born in Hamakuapoko, the youngest of 11, Reed later moved to Oahu where she raised her four children. She remembers when her eldest child, Jacob, brought home an assignment to explain how his ethnic group contributed to Hawaii.

“Little did I realize how important those questions were or the profound impact they would have on our lives,” she says.

Her parents spoke Portuguese, but not to her. Reed, now in her 70s, remembers children listening to the older generation’s songs and trying to imitate the adults’ dances.

“All that aside, I knew almost nothing about Portugal, its history, culture, music or literature,” she says. “In an effort to help Jacob with his assignment, I trudged off to Kaneohe library and began researching. There was very little information available on this particular ethnic group — surprising when one considers 24,000 Portuguese emigrated from Madeira and the Azores to Hawaii between 1878 and 1913. They came in response to Hawaii’s need for laborers in the sugar industry. Sugar cane was grown in Madeira and the Azores for four centuries before it was grown in Hawaii.”

Reed discovered that before this migration many Portuguese had arrived as whalers and played roles in several historical events. She also learned how musical instruments such as the braguinha and cavaquinho, both in the guitar family, were embedded in the sound of Hawaiian music.

Jabob’s report earned him an A.

Reed would continue to explore her heritage, meeting notable researchers at the University of Hawaii, traveling to Portugal and enrolling her children in a small folklore group. They later founded their own group and performed on neighbor islands.

In 1980 Mayor Hannibal Tavares asked her to return to Maui to serve as deputy director in the Department of Housing and Human Concerns, and her learning, as well as her contributions, expanded.

Damien J. Farias, also Portuguese and owner of Maui Toyota, first became acquainted with Reed when Tavares, who wanted Portuguese businesses to form a Chamber of Commerce, suggested a lunch meeting.

“Audrey is one of the most hardworking people I have ever known, with a heart as big as a watermelon,” says Farias.

“She easily lends her hand and heart to those who could use some encouragement,” says Roy Katsuda, former executive director of Hale Mahaolu, who met Reed decades ago. He’s seen her partner with others and launch a now 30-year tradition during the annual county fair where those with disabilities and their caregivers can easily access the fair’s rides and fun.

Farias says Reed, who retired in 2007 as the longtime head of the nonprofit J. Walter Cameron Center in Wailuku, wanted for decades to build a place “where a proud people come together and share all that was and is their heritage.” Farias was not only a seed donor, but provided a six-figure check in the closing moments of the fundraising drive.

“Heritage Hall is now a joint cultural center for the Portuguese and Puerto Rican ethnic groups,” adds Katsuda. “Audrey brought the two groups together to acquire the land in Paia from Alexander & Baldwin and organized them to approach the mayors and County Councils of Maui, the governors and state legislators. Fourteen years later a beautiful building houses two groups of people who have shaped Hawaii into the most beautiful place on earth.”

“She worked for many, many, years with many setbacks and never gave up,” says Farias.

N.T. Arévalo is a storyteller and strategist who offers stories of pono across our land. Share your pono story and learn more at storystudiowriters.com.